Concrete-mixer.



W. A. WHEELER.

CONCRETE MIXER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1912. l ,049,01 8.7 Patented Dec. 31, 1912.

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CONCRETE MIXER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1912.

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Patented Dec. 31, 1912.

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@Mme/.mao t WILLARD A. WHEELER, 0F ATKINSON, NEBRASKA.

CONCRETE-MIXER. Y

Specification of Letters Patent. i

Patented nec. ai, i912.

Application filed January 20, 1912. i Serial No. 672,348.

To al1/,whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLARD A. WHEELER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Atkinson, in the county of Holt and State of Nebraska, have invented new and useful Improvements in Concrete- Mixers, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to an apparatus for mixing concrete and other materials, the pri-mary object of the invention being to provide a frusto-conical rotary mixing drum which is adjustable to regulate its feeding and mixing actions and which embodies a novel construction of feeding and mixing devices, whereby eliciency of operation is obtained.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel means for mounting the drum; whereby an easy and'free revoluble motion thereof is insured; novel means for driving the drum and feeding the material thereto; novel means for adjusting the drum to vary its angle of inclination; and means for moistening the material so that it may be delivered in proper condition for handling.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully `described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a sectional plan view of the mixer taken on the plane indicated by the line 1-1 of Fig. 2, Fig. 2 is a central vertical longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 .is a cross section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail section on line -4 of Fig. 3. Fig.- 5 is a detail section on line 5 5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a cross section through the inlet end of the drum. Fig. 7 is a cross section on line 7-7 of Fig. 2 through the center of the. drum. Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of the interior 4of the drum as it would appear if spread out in a flat condition.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a suitable supporting frame'provided at one end with a superposed hopper 2 for the reception of the material to be delivered to the mixing drum. The opened end of mouth 3 of this hopper is disposed above the upper stretch of a longitudinally extending, horizontal feed belt 4 mounted upon rolls 5 and 6, which upper stretch of the belt receives the material from the hopper and is movable in a forward direction to a pulley 9 connected by a drive'belt 10 with a pulley l11 on the shaft of the roll 5, whereby the feed belt is driven.

The forward end of the'feeder 5 projects into the inner, reduced inlet end of the mixing drum 12, which drum is of frustoconical form and arranged horizontallyl or inclined at a slight angle downwardly and forwardly between its reduced inlet end and its outer or enlarged delivery end for the feed of the material therethrough by gravity, which is effected in the rotation of the drum by the inclination of the bottom portion of the drum due to its frustoconioal form. The drum extends through suitable supporting portions 113 and 14. which inclose the same, and which are respectivelyl provided with spaced pairs of bars or plates 15 and 16 which carry sets of pivot pins or bolts 17 and 18 on which are revolubly mounted supporting wheels or rollers 19 and 20. These wheels or rollers are annularly grooved to engage the vertical tianges and horizontal webs of T- shaped track rails 21 and 22 secured to and encircling the drum, whereby the drum is supported to have a free and easy revoluble motion.

The supporting portion 14 of the drum at or near its larger end is in, the form of a vertically adjustable auxiliary frame provided at its sides with lugs 23 having .threaded openings for the passage of vertical shafts 24 and nuts to engage threaded portions 25 of said shafts, which latter are mounted in suitable bearings 26 on the main frame ,1. rIhe shafts 25 carry at their lower ends gears 27 which mesh with worms y28 on a transverse adjusting shaft 29 mounted of inclination to retard or accelerate itsl feed motion as occasion may require. As the drum tilts mainly Aon its reduced end as an axis or point of fulcrum, the wheels or rollers 19 are fitted to slide on their axle bolts 17, to permit and compensate for such 'tilting motion.

Supported upon the frame, 1 is a water feed pipe 32 connected at its inlet end with a hose 33 leading from a suitable source of water supply. This pipe-is' provided with a controlling valve 34, and at its -delivery end is formed or provided with an elbow 35 arranged in advance of thedelivery end of the drum and terminating in a spray pipe or extension 36 extending into such end of the drum, whereby the concrete or material undergoing the mixing process may bemoistened to any desired 4degree prior to discharge. tween its two 4points of supportasprocket ring 37 connected by a drive chain 38 with a sprocket -wheel 39 on the forward lend of a longitudinally extending shaft 40, the rear end of which carries a beveled gear 41 meshing with and receiving motion from al similar gear 42 on the drive shaft 7.

Arranged upon the interior of the drum are 'annular series of longitudinally extending rightangular mixing paddles or blades 43, arranged in staggered relation or with the paddles or blades of the several annular rows or series arranged successively in line between the paddles or blades 'of the ad'- jacent rows or series. Thesey paddles or blades operate in the forward feed of the material to take up andelevate the same and to turn over the particles lof the material to effect a thorough agitation and admixture thereof. Th'e fro-nt series of blades 43'terminate a suitable distance from the delivery end of the drum, while the rear series of blades terminate a suitable distancefrom the inlet end of the drum, leaving at the latter-named end a receiving space 44 in which are arranged two or more series of agitating and feed paddles or blades 45, arranged' injstaggered relation to each other.y The delivery end of the belt projects into the saidspace' 44` to deposit thematerial therein, and. the blades or paddles' 45 are disposed obliquely or spirally to the axis of the drum to'spread' outvan'd distribute the material around the surface of the drum and feed said material longitudinally toward the center of the drum, where itis agitated and admixed by the paddles or The drum carries be-y intacte blades 43, insuring a rapid feeding of thev material, as well as a thorough combination of the particles thereof. The materlal nally discharges at the widened. deliveryV rier furnished to prevent escape of the materialat such end ofthe drum. When the drum is tilted forwardly to retard the feed of the material, thisflangefalso acts to pre vent the material from escape before it is initially gathered up and fed forward by the blades or paddles 45. i

From the foregoing descriptiontaken in connection with thedrawings, the construction and mode of operation of my improved mixing apparatus will be readily under'- stood and it will be seen that'the invention provides a device of this character-which is simple of construction, adapted to be built and operated at a comparatively low sost, and which insures a thorough agitation and admixture of the material under treat-merit; lt will, of course, be understood that while the device is especially adapted for mixing concrete and the like, it may be also enrployed for mixing other "materials Having thus described the invention, what I claim as newis:

1. In a mixing apparatus, the `combination of amain frame', inneran'd-V outer aux- -iliary frame port-ions rigidly and adjustably mounted respectively upon the main frame, a frusto-conical drum-extending lthrough said auxiliary frame vport-ions and provided with annular tracks in line therewith, grooved rollers upoir the auxiliary frame portions and engaging vsaid tracks, the rollers of the inner auxiliary frame portion being loosely mountedtopermit the drum to tilt vertically, nuts upon the adjustable auxiliaryl frame portion, screw shafts upon the main frame and engaging said nuts, a transverse power shaft journaled upon the frame, and worm gearing between the same and the 'respective screw shafts.

2. A mixing apparatus comprising a main frame, fixed and vertically adjustable auxiliary frames thereon carrying sets of grooved rollers, the grooved rollers upon the fixed auxiliary frame being free for sliding motion on their axes, a frustoconi cal drum projecting through the auxiliary frames and provided 'with annular track rails engaging said rollers, said drum being adjustable with the adjustable auxiliary frame and tiltable on the rollers ofthe fixed auxiliary frame and provided with internal feeding and mixing blades, a water su ply pipe projecting into the enlarged end o the drum, and supported by and movable with In testimon lwhereof I aiix my signature I the adjustable auxiliary frame, means for in presence o two witnesses.

feeding the material into the reduced end of the drum, means for revolving said drum, WILLARD A WHEELER' and means for adjusting the adjustable Witnesses:

auxiliary frame to tilt the drum in a verti- F RED H. SWINGLEY, cal plane. H. A. SNYDER. 

